An employee walking along a thermal pipe at the Kamojang geothermalpower plant near Garut, West Java, on March 18. State utility provider Perusahaan Listrik Negara is targeting an additional 135 megawatts ofelectricity from three new geothermal plants. (Reuters Photo/Beawiharta)

So let me tell you what else they did. They just showed you what's wrong with nuclear power. "Safe to the maximum," they said. "Our devices are strong and cannot fail." But they did. They are no match for Gaia.

It seems that for more than 20 years, every single time we sit in the chair and speak of electric power, we tell you that hundreds of thousands of tons of push/pull energy on a regular schedule is available to you. It is moon-driven, forever. It can make all of the electricity for all of the cities on your planet, no matter how much you use. There's no environmental impact at all. Use the power of the tides, the oceans, the waves in clever ways. Use them in a bigger way than any designer has ever put together yet, to power your cities. The largest cities on your planet are on the coasts, and that's where the power source is. Hydro is the answer. It's not dangerous. You've ignored it because it seems harder to engineer and it's not in a controlled environment. Yet, you've chosen to build one of the most complex and dangerous steam engines on Earth - nuclear power.

We also have indicated that all you have to do is dig down deep enough and the planet will give you heat. It's right below the surface, not too far away all the time. You'll have a Gaia steam engine that way, too. There's no danger at all and you don't have to dig that far. All you have to do is heat fluid, and there are some fluids that boil far faster than water. So we say it again and again. Maybe this will show you what's wrong with what you've been doing, and this will turn the attitudes of your science to create something so beautiful and so powerful for your grandchildren. Why do you think you were given the moon? Now you know.

This benevolent Universe gave you an astral body that allows the waters in your ocean to push and pull and push on the most regular schedule of anything you know of. Yet there you sit enjoying just looking at it instead of using it. It could be enormous, free energy forever, ready to be converted when you design the methods of capturing it. It's time. …”

Friday, November 9, 2007

Procon says rising costs may delay property projects

Rising construction costs resulting from the surge in oil prices will likely cause a delay in a number of large property projects in the country's major cities, particularly Jakarta, a property consultant says.

PT Procon Indah chief executive officer Siswanto Widjaja said Thursday that the delays would affect most types of property developments, including office and condominium projects.

"Except for retail outlets, many property projects may be delayed next year," he said, adding that the delays would affect supply over the next three years.

Siswanto said that producers of construction materials, such as cement and steel, had begun to feel the pinch from rising oil prices.

"This will continue next year and result in even bigger increases in prices," he said.

Pertamina raised the prices of fuels for commercial use by about 6 percent to take account of the rise in crude oil prices. With further increases in crude prices, fuel prices for industry will likely increase even more over the coming months. Unlike, the fuels sold to the public and households, fuels for commercial use are not subsidized.

"This phenomenon replicates what happened in 2005, when a similar rise in fuel prices took place. There was an obvious delay in construction activities, the repercussions of which we are now seeing, including in the office building market," Procon Indah strategic advisory senior manager Utami Prastiana said.

Besides surging construction costs, the parliamentary and presidential elections, which will be held in 2009, would also affect the property sector as most developers would take a wait-and-see approach.

However, Utami said that the surging fuel prices and the elections would not really affect the property market next year as both supply and demand during the year would remain stable.

According to Procon's market review, the office building market during the third quarter of this year was quite encouraging with growth in the occupancy rate and sales reaching their highest level in 10 years.

Compared to last year, she said, there had been a 5.5 percent increase in new supply of office space, while the occupancy rate had risen by 4.1 percent.

"The most stunning achievement is the level of demand for office space, which peaked at 133.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year,"

Utami added that total demand for office space for this year was projected to reach 270,000 square meters, which would represent a 117 percent increase over last year. (amr)

Health, Safety & Environment

PRECARIOUS: Without proper safety equipment, three workers put the iron frame for a billboard in place near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta on Friday. The billboard will display a sign celebrating the city's 480th birthday. JP/Arief Suhardiman

Suppliers

Water Distribution

Flow of Funds, Flow of Water (WB)

Today, fewer than 20% of households in Indonesia have access to piped water, which is inexpensive and still of reasonable quality compared to alternative sources. The situation has deteriorated in recent years, as the sector can no longer rely on central government grants and loans, formerly major sources of funding.Read More ...

FREE CAR WASH: A taxi is sprayed with water from a broken pipe on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta on Sunday. (JP/J. Adiguna)

GIFT FROM EARTH: Almost half of Jakarta's residents use groundwater as their main source of clean water due to a lack of access to treated piped water. Water comes from wells like the one this family in Kampung Bahari, North Jakarta are using (photo above), or mechanic pumps like this one in Kampung Melayu, South Jakarta. (JP/P.J. Leo)

LATEST NEWS: Photographers covering the deteriorating health of former president Soeharto send pictures through a wireless internet facility in front of Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta on Wednesday. The service, which was provided by IT company CISCO, has saved journalists the effort of going back and forth between their offices to submit their work. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama